What is DDACTS?

Data-Driven Approaches to Crime and Traffic Safety (DDACTS) is a law enforcement operational model supported by a partnership among the Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and two agencies of the Department of Justice: the Bureau of Justice Assistance and the National Institute of Justice.

DDACTS integrates location-based crime and traffic crash data to determine the most effective methods for deploying law enforcement and other resources. Drawing on the deterrent value of highly visible traffic enforcement and the knowledge that crimes often involve motor vehicles, the goal of DDACTS is to reduce crime, crashes, and traffic violations across the country.

Using geo-mapping to identify “hot spots”—areas of high incidence of crimes and crashes—DDACTS uses targeted traffic enforcement strategies that play two roles in fighting crime and reducing crashes and traffic violations. The model responds to the competing demands for police services that law enforcement executives face every day.

Use this final report from the Urban Institute to inform current and future DDACTS sites about the state of DDACTS implementation and to support potential future DDACTS evaluations undertaken by NIJ and NHTSA.

This toolkit provides State Highway Safety Offices and law enforcement agencies with resources to learn about, market, and receive technical training timplement DDACTS in their own States or local jurisdictions.